Phoebe's First Thanksgiving
by Helena Mira
Summary: It's Phoebe's first Thanksgiving as an Everett and the family has many things to be thankful for this past year. However, before Thanksgiving, Hal has a little project of his own to give the family one more blessing to be thankful for next year.


_It is the family's first Thanksgiving together. However, before the holiday things begin to happen for which they will all be thankful for in the next year._

_I do not own these characters and make no profit from their use._

**Phoebe's First Thanksgiving**

**Prologue: Phoebe's Failure**

It was four weeks before Thanksgiving that Phoebe was once more disappointed to discover that she had failed to become pregnant. She had thought that considering the amount of time, not to mention the number of times, that she and Hal had made love over the past month that it must have happened. She began to wonder if perhaps there wasn't something wrong with her. After all, he already had three children.

She was somewhat annoyed with Hal because he refused to take her concerns seriously. He told her not to think about it so much. And, with a mischievous smile, he promised to keep trying very, very hard. Deep down she knew that it was just her own impatience, but a little sympathy would have been nice.

First he tried to jolly her out of her mood, "Trust me, sweetheart, once it happens there is no turning back. Why can't you just be happy sharing your body with me for a while before you bring someone else into it?"

Then he tried to be helpful. "Well, if you can remember some dates, then maybe I can run a few calculations for you."

She had thrown a pillow at him after that. He merely deftly caught it and laughed.

Finally, he decided to romance her. Of course he had needed a little impetus from his parents: their insistence and encouragement to pay more attention to her. They took the kids for the three-day weekend for Veteran's Day and ordered him to spend it with her, alone. He had been working so hard that they had not had much time to themselves. His eyes were alight with mischief that Friday afternoon. Once the kids were gone he picked her up and carried her off to bed.

However, his mood was very different from when they had so much time together alone before. He was playful, but exceedingly gentle and sweet. Not necessarily passionate, but very attentive and affectionate. In fact, she could not recall having his undivided attention to this degree ever before. He didn't even open the door to his study once the whole weekend.

He brought her breakfast in bed all three mornings. One day they drove out of town and picnicked and hiked in one of the nearby parks. On Sunday after church he took her to an antique show and then to dinner at one of their favorite restaurants. He spent every minute with her, including a nice long bubble bath after their hike.

On those nights, he insisted that she come up to bed early with him. She discovered that he had a bottle of white wine waiting on ice, as well as some flowers and another night some calming tea. He lit a couple of candles for atmosphere, played some soft music, and told her how beautiful she was, as he undressed her slowly, tenderly kissing her everywhere he removed her clothing.

After insisting that she allow him to give her a full body massage, he plied her with more wine and made love to her relaxed body, calmly and gently. She had enjoyed the sensation of drifting off to sleep as he continued to gently caress her. There were three beautiful nights of his attentions and she had to admit that she enjoyed them.

Unfortunately, he had ruined the mood on Tuesday morning by asking her if she was feeling any morning sickness yet. But before she could go off in a huff, he picked her once again, brought her back to bed and made love to her, which made him late for work. When he was done, he held her tight and said softly, "I promised to try very, very hard."

But no how much he teased her she couldn't really get mad at him. Of course there were times when even she had to admit that his observations were amusing. Last night when she had come to bed, he had pretended to be engrossed in a book on Euclid. She went to great lengths to distract him and after she finally succeeded and they were lying in the afterglow, he commented, "I suppose that I'm not going to have to worry about you getting too many headaches in the near future."

"If you're not careful, I'll give you a headache," she threatened, grabbing Euclid.

Disarming her, he began to kiss her again and whispered, "You give me the most wonderful ache, darling, but not in my head!"

What could she do? He knew that in this area, he was in what he called a win-win situation. If she got pregnant, she would make him the happiest man in the world. Until she got pregnant, he was on the receiving end of all her efforts to make it happen.

However, deep inside, she could scarcely admit to herself how much pleasure she derived from the carnal act. Physically, the sensations were excruciatingly blissful. Beyond that, her love for him was so deep that she yearned for those moments when she could once again feel him inside her. They had only been married for a little over a month, but she felt it was a lifetime.

**Hal's Hopes**

Hal was amused by Phoebe's disappointment at her failure to conceive for the second month in a row. Of course the first time didn't really count, but it did him no good to tell her that. He thought that when she finally did get pregnant, then she would be sorry. However, he decided to give her some help. Even though he only had two dates to work with, he figured that at her age she was pretty regular. He also made the decision not to tell her rather he would plan it like one of their surprise dates that always worked out perfectly. He suspected that part of the problem was that she was thinking about it too much.

Once he had his time frame, he planned several romantic nights alone in their bedroom. Fortunately they fell over a weekend, so things were even more relaxed. As an added benefit, his father had begun to ride him about neglecting his wife for his work. Using the pretense of a joke, he asked him what he planned to do about it. Rob fell into his trap and informed him that he and Mother would get the kids out of the house for the three-day weekend coming up. He then made him promise to spend all his time romancing his wife.

Hal happily complied with his demand. He laughed to think that it was any kind of a sacrifice to make love to his beautiful wife. Wine, candlelight, full body massages (as relaxing for him as they were for her), small gifts of flowers, music, and her favorite tea. One night they shared a bubble bath. He knew that it would all pay off if he could just get her mind off the outcome and focus on the process. Besides it was a very pleasurable experience for both of them.

They spent their days doing the kind of casual things that they enjoyed. There was hiking and a picnic one day. They visited an antique show and had dinner out another. The whole time he gave her his absolute undivided attention. Despite the fact that he hated any kind of cooking or kitchen work, he made her breakfast in bed all three mornings. Even though he couldn't take her away, he wanted their time alone to be special. A weekend that they would both remember.

His love and desire for her had deepened. While he still felt passionate about her and enjoyed their more thrilling moments, he wanted this time to be different. He delighted in slowly undressing her to reveal her beauty, that beauty that was for him alone. He slowly and deliberately made love to her.

After all that she had given him, he knew that all she truly wished in return was the gift of life, that spark that would grow within her and become the child that they would raise together. This was a living gift of love that he alone could give her. He allowed all this emotion to come out in his lovemaking, but withheld from her the source.

At the end of it all, he even had a little fun with her and asked if she was feeling any morning sickness yet. She refused to answer, but was obviously feeling fine, so he took her back to bed for a little "insurance." He didn't tell her that he had previously arranged for a colleague to cover his first class. Because it was his father who had insisted that they have this weekend together, she was none the wiser that it was actually her most fertile time of the month. If she had been, he knew that it would have created unnecessary anxiety on her part.

He had no worries. Deep inside he knew that this was the time for their little miracle of life to come to her mother. In fact one night, for the merest fragment of a second he believed that he sensed her presence within his wife. It was of course a romantic and fanciful notion. He supposed that he was spending too much time around Trelawney.

However this was one of those cases where he had more information than she did and he intended to keep it that way. He didn't want any more disappointments. And considering that Aunt Henrietta was waiting in the wings to pounce on the mere suggestion of a child, the fact that their time window had been pushed out by a month was a good thing.

Ten months would leave absolutely no doubts in anyone's mind. He had decided that eleven months was too long and that she might really begin to drive him crazy if she had to wait that long. Besides, the baby pool in the math department was quite large now. In fact, people from other departments had begun to kick in. If things kept up the way they were going, he could probably put the child through college on his winnings. When he had picked August 13, it had been a sentimental choice, the peak of the Perseids meteor shower. Looking at his calendar now, he could see that it just might hit.

The thought that their child could be born on a night when the meteors were raining from the heavens of a rate of one per minute was exciting. He remembered their date from last summer on that same day. It had been the beginning of her long journey home to him. He liked the idea that their first child would complete her journey home to them on that same night. And he had no doubts that the child would be a girl.

He smiled when he thought of how his wife had changed him. Although he was still the scientist, she had added a touch of fantasy and romanticism into his life. She teased him sometimes that he was becoming more poetic, but he enjoyed that. She had opened his eyes to the beauty of the natural world, as well as its scientific composition and explanations. Before she was even conceived, their daughter had a name, Margaret.

Right after they were married, Hal knew that Phoebe would potentially struggle with her relationship with his mother. Mother was ready to love and fuss over her as the daughter she never had. Phoebe had only recently lost her own mother. It was fortunate for all concerned that both women were of a nature to be sympathetic to other's needs. He also had decided that he would not tell Phoebe that Mother had lost her own mother young, and would understand her feelings better than she realized. Then there was the fact that both of their mothers were named Margaret.

That was another way in which she had changed him. At another point in his life, he would have explained all of this to her ahead of time and told her why they would be able to have a relationship that they could both enjoy. He also didn't mention to his mother that Phoebe's mother's name was Margaret. Once again, he kept the information from her and let her learn it as her relationship with Mother evolved. She had rejoiced in the discovery of their common bonds and now accepted Mother as her most trusted woman friend. Thus his mother had the daughter that she had always wanted to love and Phoebe had the motherly support she needed.

Once the window for conception had passed, Hal enjoyed making love to her even more. She had no idea of the details of getting the timing right because she was so insulted the one time he had mentioned it. As a result, he was on the receiving end of some very seductive overtures. It was fun to be so desired, especially since he knew that deep down she was in it for much more than the baby making. She was fully enthralled by the sensual pleasures of marriage. Much as he had loved his first wife, there was no denying that Phoebe was the more passionate woman and exciting lover.

He knew that she was anxiously hopeful that she would know in a few weeks if things had or were about to happen this time around. However at precisely that time, the excitement and preparations for Christmas would be going on, followed by their three-week honeymoon. If all worked according to plan, they would know for sure about a week after the honeymoon.

Since she had never been pregnant before, he was curious to see how aware she might be of the changes in her body, before the more obvious ones began to occur. Once the possibility presented itself in about two weeks, he intended to watch her closely. He wanted to make sure that she kept her stress level at a minimum. He knew that it was possible for a woman to miscarry before she even knew that she was pregnant. He didn't want that to happen now.

He did not know how he knew, but something deep within him knew that this child was special. She would be their first, but there was something about a child who had been named before conception, and loved before her parents were even married, that meant that there was something predestined about her. He also instinctively knew, without any empirical evidence that the most dangerous time for this child would be _in utero_, before her birth.

Each night he slept with Phoebe in his arms. She was comforted by his presence. Despite her worries, she slept well. He was determined to protect her and keep her safe. His parents had lived with them for four weeks. That was now changed. They were renting Mrs. Kaufman's house up the street and had finally established themselves there.

They had originally stayed in town after the church blessing of their marriage to care for the children while he and Phoebe took a brief three-day honeymoon. It was Phoebe's sister Trelawney who insisted that they stay longer. She was desperately frightened of something. When the nightmares came, only his mother could console her.

When Hal thought back to his mother's initial phone call inviting herself, his father, and brothers for the weekend and how annoyed he had been, he was once again struck by how things had worked out. His parents and brothers had been there for the church blessing. It was at this time that something passed between Phoebe and Mother that had irrevocably changed their relationship for the better. His family had gifted them with two honeymoons, the first of which began at the end of Sunday.

Because of this, his parents had been with them the night of Trelawney's great nightmare and had stayed with them at her request. Since then, they had taken over her custody, which made her safe, or so they hoped, from a challenge by Phoebe's family. Now his parents were there to help take some of the pressure off Phoebe of caring for the four children not to mention himself. Hopefully, this had now resulted in the conception of their first child.

Yet, despite Phoebe's greater comfort and strength in these days, the nightmares kept coming for Trelawney. The child was bonding ever more closely with his parents. Hal was grateful because it meant that she relied less on Phoebe for support. His parents were creating a buffer that allowed her to enjoy life more. That in turn kept Trelawney on an even keel. And she would have nothing to do with Aunt Henrietta. That was good. Whenever she antagonized Aunt Henrietta it upset Phoebe again.

Phoebe's Aunt Henrietta had arrived about two weeks ago. Her eagle eyes were constantly on the watch for any indication that Phoebe was already with child. It had been six weeks since they were married and if they had hurried to the altar because of an untimely blessed event, there would have been evidence by now. Or so he thought. She and Hal had been at odds from the beginning. They both loved and wanted to protect Phoebe.

The problem was, that Aunt Henrietta wanted to protect her from him. Although there really wasn't much she could do on that score since they were already married. She disliked his skepticism at her "powers" and felt that he had grounded Phoebe from her wanderlust. That latter was true, but it didn't seem to matter that Phoebe was so happy and content. To the perverse Figalilly way of thinking, contentment seemed to be a vice rather than a virtue.

He would have found Aunt Henrietta more amusing if she weren't so difficult. She owned a traveling circus and unfortunately after coming to town she decided to stop traveling with it and "settle" so that she could spend more time with her "dear Phoebe."

Not to mention protect her from whatever it was she thought she needed protection from. On this issue, she was very vague.

She had been unhappy to discover that his mother was Phoebe's closest confidante now. Hal was often busy at the university and Mother helped her to pass the time when he wasn't around. She and his Dad also helped with the kids, whose schedules kept them all constantly running when they weren't in school.

Since Trelawney and Aunt Henrietta did not get along at all, this added to the conflict. Aunt Henrietta was a large woman with a large personality and a penchant for the occult. Phoebe had warned him that no one in the family took her seriously. She liked to dress in flowing garments and scarves and wear brilliant colors. Trelawney, in her devastatingly honest way had wondered aloud one night at dinner if Aunt Henrietta were not the biggest tent in the circus.

After that the other kids had trouble taking her seriously also. It was in his son Hal's nature to be skeptical of such a creature. Butch and Prudence, who tended to follow Trelawney's lead anyway also refused to "believe in her" to quote Prudence. Trelawney, who herself had genuine psychic gifts laughed at her to her face at times, much to Phoebe's chagrin.

The worst incident happened when Aunt Henrietta, chasing after a theoretical poltergeist who was moving the living room furniture around at night, held a seance during which she called upon her contact Rosalie to find the poltergeist somewhere in the afterlife for a sit down, during which he could be reasoned with.

Thus Phoebe, Hal, and he had to sit as she glided around the room calling "Rosalie" in her rather plangent voice. They all almost lost it completely when she started playing "When I'm Calling You" on a trumpet and insisted that they sing along. Unfortunately things went awry when Waldo came in the front door at an inauspicious time and got tangled up in her scarf.

Hal was the only one of the children who was permitted to be present. The other three children were supposed to be in bed and asleep. However, something had awakened Trelawney (probably the trumpet) and she came down for the disastrous finale. Observing the scene from the stairs, Trelawney drily made the comment that Rosalie had been a little fool while she had been alive and had not improved "a wit" in the time since. Rosalie had died in 1832 at the age of twelve and thus her statement was as ridiculous as the seance had been.

Phoebe, despite the fact that she had been rolling her eyes as much as Hal during the exhibition, hissed at her to quiet down. Aunt Henrietta, now incensed at the disrespect, flew out of the house, scarves billowing behind her, all the while blaming Waldo for interfering with her psychic connections.

"You forgot your broom," Trelawney called after her. "Although you're flying so well that perhaps you don't need one."

The two Hals began to chortle with laughter, but Phoebe was bothered.

"Trelawney, must you taunt her like that?" she asked her when she was gone. "You'll only make things worse for yourself."

"In what way?" asked Trelawney in the tone of voice she used when dealing with adults she thought were fools. "She's as much of a faker as Uncle Alfred only far less entertaining. She's one of the least effective relatives they could have sent to spy on us."

"But she is a very effective meddler and you know why she's here," replied Phoebe.

Trelawney just tossed her head and said, "Oh, Phoebe. You know that you have nothing to worry about on that score."

Phoebe had just discovered that she could not be pregnant and was sensitive. Trelawney saw how hurt she was by the carelessly tossed off comment and threw herself in her arms and began to cry.

"I'm sorry, Phoebe. I don't mean to tease about that. I love you and I know that you want a baby. She'll come soon, I know she will."

It was when Hal saw this exchange that he decided to take matters into his own hands. Among other things, Trelawney had a genuine prescience about the future, stronger even than Phoebe's. She had indicated to him earlier that she knew something. He had discovered that Phoebe's abilities, like her sister's, could be clouded by emotion or fear. Therefore, it was entirely possible that Phoebe might have no idea of her condition until the physical evidence presented itself.

He chose, for the moment, to focus on his family, Phoebe and his children, and his job. Phoebe was his first priority. He knew that as long as she felt safe and secure that she was her happy and cheerful self, with only the occasional sadness from the lingering grief from her parents' death nearly a year ago now.

He also knew that once she had her own child to think about, it would make her much happier. Whenever Helen had been pregnant, the focus on the little person growing inside her had always made it easier to put the rest of life's issues in perspective. Knowing Phoebe as well as he did, he suspected that the child would completely absorb her thoughts and feelings.

He was also hoping to get her passed the mindset that she seemed to have developed since she had lost her parents. She always seemed to be looking around the proverbial corner for the next bad thing or crisis as soon as one had passed. Pastor Jason had explained that this feeling of perpetual foreboding often occurred after a great psychological trauma. He viewed this as unnecessary anxiety and perhaps even self-fulfilling prophecy. He knew that Pastor Jason was working with her on this and he hoped for progress soon.

**God's Greatest Gift**

Phoebe was actually sorry when Rob and Catherine moved up the street to Mrs. Kaufman's house. She missed her daily interactions with Catherine as they went about the ordinary activities of their lives. But she also knew that in the long term, the space would be good for all of them. She also agreed that separating Prudence and Trelawney for sleeping purposes was a good thing. When they left, Catherine had made it clear to them that they must stay apart at night. If they couldn't, then Trelawney would go to live with her and Rob.

They moved before Thanksgiving. Catherine insisted that they come over for a traditional Thanksgiving meal, just like her mother used to cook. She hadn't had the opportunity to cook a large family Thanksgiving meal in years and was really looking forward to making Hal and Phoebe's first Thanksgiving as husband and wife special. When Phoebe offered to help she was thrilled.

"This is the holiday here in the states that is probably the most famous for its set menu, so speak. But every family has their own traditions and their own recipes. I grew up back east in Connecticut in a small town in the northwest part of the state. My own roots go back to what you might call an old Yankee family," she explained.

Phoebe was fascinated. After all someday her children would share this heritage. Because the United States was such a "new" country compared with England, and of course her own area which could trace its history back over one thousand years, she had never thought of American families as having much by the way of their own holiday traditions. And this indeed was an authentic American holiday. There was nothing like it in England.

She had of course heard the stories of the Mayflower and the Puritans at Plymouth Plantation when she had helped the children with their homework. It was interesting to hear them again from an American perspective, after having been brought up on the English version.

The differences between the various Christian sects in England at the time seemed rather different the way that the Yanks told it. When learning the history of the rule of James I and the other Stuart kings, the settling of some of the most puritanical elements of the Protestants in the new world was a minor footnote. Over here, of course, it was the central narrative.

The year before, on the instruction of the kids, she had cooked the traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie for the family. The holiday had not seemed like much to her, with most of the focus on the television. The family spent the morning watching some big parade in New York City and then the rest of the day watching football. She had not really understood the fuss.

But now Catherine shared her family traditions. They went to church in the morning for the blessing of the bread and wine to serve at dinner later. She insisted on a huge turkey and taught her the family's own recipe for sage stuffing. There were also family recipes for cranberry sauce, cornbread, and pumpkin pie.

Rob, Hal, and the boys of course watched the "traditional" football games, but Prudence and Trelawney helped with setting the table. She also taught them how to make the cornucopia for the centerpiece and Indian corn decorations. The cornucopia basket was another family heirloom of hers that she promised to pass along to Prudence one day, much to the little girl's delight.

The girls were enthralled. For Trelawney of course, this was all new, but Prudence could not remember any kind of a "real" Thanksgiving. As they worked, Catherine told them all about the Thanksgivings from her girlhood.

"Where I lived up in Connecticut, it was very rural. In fact I attended a one room schoolhouse, the Bullet Hill School, in a town called Southbury," she explained.

Prudence was fascinated, "I've only read about those in books. I didn't know that the were still around."

"Well," said Catherine. "I don't know if they are still around now, but when I was a girl you often found them in farm communities. There weren't enough children in the area for a graded school until years later."

"How long have your people lived in the area?" asked Trelawney.

"Well they moved to that part of Connecticut before the Revolution. In fact it is one of the places where the French general Rochambeau camped. But the family came over from England in the Seventeenth Century," she said.

"So there must still be a lot of them in the area," commented Trelawney.

"I suppose that depends on your definition of a lot," replied Catherine. "During the present generation of adults, meaning Hal's, many of them have moved away in search of jobs. However, when I was growing up there we would all gather at my grandparents' farm, in a town called Bethlehem. The Nobles were spread out all over the area. My branch of the family had settled in Woodbury, which is just north of Southbury. One of my brothers still has a place there. He runs an antique shop out of his barn."

"Wow!" said Prudence. "I didn't know that I had a family like that."

Catherine was pleased by her granddaughter's interest.

"You know, Prudence," she said. "Someday we can sit down with some of my family records and I can show you about our history. Our family originally came to the Connecticut shoreline from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1600's. My branch of the family moved north in 1707. We had one of the first houses in the town of New Milford. One of your ancestors, a little girl named Sarah is said to have spent the winter there with a local Indian tribe."

"That sounds like a story in a book," said Prudence.

"How did you come to leave Connecticut?" asked Phoebe, who was more interested in the Catherine Noble Everett of today than Sarah Noble of yesterday.

"It started when my parents wanted me to have a better education than I could get at the local high school at home. They sent me to a boarding school in Farmington, which is nine miles west of Hartford, called Miss Porter's. From there I was able to go to Barnard College, which is a part of Columbia University in New York City. I was fascinated by literature and decided to study for my PhD," she replied.

"Really?" asked Trelawney. "That was a lot of education for a woman in those days, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was," said Catherine cheerfully. "I'm afraid that I disgusted some of my professors when I "threw it all away" to marry Grampie. We moved around a bit with the boys before we settled out here."

"So love conquered all," said Trelawney. "How romantic!"

"It was," agreed Catherine. "But I never felt like I threw anything away. I have my family and I enjoyed teaching high school English for many years after the boys were old enough. When I look at how hard Hal has to work, I really don't feel like I gave anything much up by not having a university career."

"If you had," said Prudence seriously. "Then I wouldn't be here."

"Quite right," said Phoebe, quickly.

Then to avoid the topic of baby making she asked, "Do you think that we will be able to pry the men away from the television for dinner?"

"Once we take the turkey out of the oven, there will be no prying involved," replied Catherine with a smile. "In fact Rob will be underfoot waiting to carve it after it cools down a bit. That's always been his job and he is afraid that Hal might want to take it over."

"Not likely," replied Phoebe. "Last year I had to carve the turkey myself. I'm afraid that it was more accurately butchered than carved."

Prudence giggled. "Daddy said that the pieces looked more like slabs than slices. And you told him that the next time he wanted a turkey he could carve it himself."

Trelawney rolled her eyes and asked of no one in particular, "Who needs a tape recorder when we have Prudence?"

As they sat down to dinner, Catherine announced that it was the family tradition to go around the table, starting with Rob and ending with her, and each person would give thanks for the blessings of the previous year. It was another tradition for Phoebe to love and cherish. But as she waited for her turn, she reflected that all of these blessings could be reduced to a single one, God's greatest gift: Family.

**Catherine's Care**

After dinner, the men went back to their football game, Prudence and Trelawney decided to play dress up with a trunk of old clothes that Catherine had put up in the attic for that purpose, and Phoebe and Catherine sat down to chat. Phoebe knitted while they talked and Catherine brought out her crewel embroidery. She had designed a kind of sampler for Phoebe and Hal that simply said,

"In the end, there are three things that endure, faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13

It was decorated with hearts and flowers and would be completed in time to be their Christmas present. Now that she was aware of how Phoebe felt about materialism, she knew that this gift would mean far more to her than anything she could buy.

"This is one of the womanly arts that I picked up in boarding school," she explained. "We used to sit in the dormitory parlor in the evening with our needlework while the housemother would read aloud to us from the Bible or some other "uplifting" book."

"You didn't have schoolwork to do at night?" asked Phoebe curiously.

"Not the way that children have homework today, if that's what you mean," she answered. "The school was actually not founded as a college preparatory school, it was a school where young ladies would go to 'finish' their education before marriage."

"But you weren't 'finished'?" replied Phoebe with a smile.

"No, not at all," said Catherine. "The founder of the school, Miss Sarah Porter, had been the sister of Noah Porter, one of the presidents of Yale. Despite the fact that the girls were being 'finished,' she insisted that they have rigorous academic instruction which included the study of Latin, Hebrew, and Ancient Greek among other things. I believe that the idea was to prepare her students to be wives of Yale graduates. She wanted them to be able to have intelligent conversation with their husbands."

Catherine was clearly amused by the rationale of her alma mater.

"I took my "intelligent conversation" to college and graduate school," she said. "But my love of homely crafts came to my family. It's nice to have someone to share them with now. Even if our preferences are different."

"I think that the crewel work is lovely," said Phoebe. "I've done a bit in my day, but I really prefer knitting."

As they worked, Catherine watched the young woman. Despite the upset with her sister, she seemed to now have an aura of peace and contentment about her. The inner glow made her wonder if perhaps the miracle that she was awaiting had finally happened. If it had, she was completely unaware. Catherine knew that she would be so thrilled when it finally happened that there was no way that she would be able to keep it to herself.

Catherine smiled at thought, but chose not to mention or even suggest it. Hal had told them of her recent disappointment and his desire to get her to move on.

"This is a very special holiday for me, my dear."

"I could tell at dinner," replied Phoebe, once more returning her smile. "I believe that Butch was most impatient as we each gave thanks for the blessings of our year. That is a wonderful tradition. In fact all of these traditions are. I look forward to passing them down to our children some day."

"It was very interesting to hear what all the children had to say. It always is," she commented.

"Yes," agreed Phoebe. "Butch was grateful for Little League and Hal for his science program."

"Prudence was thankful for her Mommy, of course," added Catherine. "And you were most thankful for family."

Phoebe sighed. "As usual, Trelawney had to seek attention by giving thanks for the gallant knight, the good queen, the wee fairy, the angel, the lovely lady, and the wise gentleman. It was a pity that Butch had to ask about Hal and himself."

"Well," replied Catherine trying not to laugh. "She did give him a wonderfully devastating look as she said that she would give a wee bit of thanks for the two court fools."

"I'm afraid that he will never learn," commented Phoebe. "My husband was very sweet to be thankful for me and the 'fair maiden.' It made the boys laugh, but I know that Trelawney was pleased. He didn't mean it as a joke, you know."

"Yes, I know," said Catherine. "My husband really made things difficult for me when he made his little speech about how thankful he was for our rediscovery of our family. Of course he had the advantage of knowing the family tradition. True to form, Hal had forgotten it. Of course he has not spent Thanksgiving with us in many years."

"But, I will admit,' said Phoebe in an effort to get away from talk of another one of Helen's shortcomings. "that I found yours to be the sweetest. I am very moved that you think of me as a blessing to the whole Everett family."

"That, my dear," replied Catherine. "Is because of your natural humility."

In a further demonstration of that humility, Phoebe automatically lowered her eyes to her knitting.

"You know, I didn't want to say this at the table because I was afraid that I would have started crying," said Catherine. "But one of the many blessings that have come to me this year is that you, my darling daughter, now hold these traditions safe for the next generation. Before you, there was no one to pass them down to. The boys could not care less and Helen, well, was not interested."

"I suppose that she had her own traditions," said Phoebe tactfully. She did not want to be critical of Helen.

Catherine was still for a moment. She laid her hands down in her lap and stared into space. She was struggling with something. She had never shared her true feelings about Helen with anyone other than Rob. But she felt compelled to share them with Phoebe.

"Helen was very different from you. She was not as much of a homebody and was not very interested in family history or tradition. I mean by that, not just Everett family history, but her own," she explained. "You've met her mother and know how difficult she is. Helen loved Hal very much and was devoted to him and the children. Her mother however was very possessive."

"Yes," replied Phoebe, trying to keep her comments brief. "I certainly did get that impression."

Catherine looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry to have put you on the spot, dear. It's not fair. It's just very difficult for me not to compare you with her. You are a much more loving and kind person, not just towards your family but to everyone you meet. Helen's love, like her mother's, tended to be more exclusive. Sadly, Rob and I ended up being excluded."

"Hal told me that you were disappointed when she didn't respond favorably to your overtures of friendship," said Phoebe sympathetically.

"My dear," answered Catherine. "You certainly have a gift for diplomacy. Helen did not only fail to respond to them, she rebuffed them. We were not very compatible. Rob thinks that she realized too late that her pushing us out of their lives made things much more difficult for Hal later, but I doubt it."

"Well," replied Phoebe. "I actually do know a bit about that. A friend of hers spoke with me a while back and let me know that eventually she did regret the control she had allowed her mother to have over her marriage, and the distance she created between Hal and you and Rob. When she came to grips with the fact that her prognosis was hopeless she suddenly felt concern about what would happen after she was gone. But by then she was too sick to do anything about it. It was easier to let Bernice take over."

"I'm glad to know that," said Catherine. "It will help me to think more kindly about her in the future. It was difficult for me to comfort my son after she had passed when I thought about how difficult she had made it for us."

"I think," said Phoebe. "That it is difficult for families to understand each other very well at times. Usually they want what is 'best' for them, but often that which is 'best' is in the eye of the beholder."

"Are you thinking of Aunt Henrietta?" asked Catherine.

"Well, she and a few other family members who have tried to meddle in my affairs recently," replied Phoebe. "I am accused now of forgetting that I am a Figalilly. I am afraid that they are missing the point."

"And what is that dear?"

"I am no longer Phoebe Figalilly, nanny and world traveler. I am Phoebe Everett, wife and mother," she said simply. "I am proud of who I am. I love my husband as my soul-mate and other half. Nothing that any of them can say will ever change that."

Catherine looked at the young woman seated before her. As sweet and kind as she was, she would never know how much better a wife and mother she would be for Hal and his children than Helen ever was. Her devotion to them was single-minded. Helen's was always divided between them and her mother. Her possessiveness of her husband and children had made it difficult for other family members to build connections with them.

Because she had never learned to love widely, she modeled her mother's possessive attitudes. Hal had never seen it, but she knew that he had adored Helen far more than she did him. His love for her, just as his love for Phoebe, was deep and abiding. He was utterly devoted to her, something that she clearly enjoyed. She had used his devotion as a means of cutting them out of his life. It was something that was very hard to forgive.

However, Phoebe had sacrificed all to be with him. Her love and devotion to the family extended to them all. It had been very evident today that she enjoyed being surrounded by family, even for a holiday that she had not known very well. And she looked to the future for her family. She understood intuitively that no one can have too much love in his or her life or too many family members to love and be loved by.

The road she had journeyed to them had not been easy. She had taken risks and chances along the way. She had rebelled and to a certain extent was still rebelling against the patriarchal culture in which she was raised. Now, with those relatives far away, with the exception of the ineffectual Aunt Henrietta, she was at peace.

Catherine was determined that she would know how deeply she was loved. Not only by Hal, but the whole family. She and Phoebe worked in companionable silence until it was time for them to leave. By the time the game was over, the children were certainly ready to go home and to bed. Catherine and Rob stood at that gate and watched them walk home. Hal's arm was firmly around his wife.

**Epilogue: The Interloper**

As they were getting ready for bed, Hal asked, "So how did you like your first real Thanksgiving? I hardly think that last year counts."

"Hardly," answered his wife, as she climbed into bed.

Looking at her, Hal commented, "I'm guessing that you are assuming that we will be locking the door tonight."

"Why do you think that?" she asked as she lay back on the bed before him, wearing nothing but a seductive smile.

Turning to lock the door, he sighed.

"I had no idea that I was marrying such a demanding wife," he said with an air of false resignation.

"I don't hear too many complaints," she said, adjusting herself a bit.

She lifted herself up on one elbow and tossed her hair back over her shoulder. Turning off the light, he gathered her in his arms to make love to her gently once more until they drifted off to sleep. For some reason, for the past few nights he had wanted to treat her with tender care. She responded in kind, clearly enjoying his single-minded attention as he demonstrated his deeply held love for her.

As usual, she fell asleep first, curled up against him. He smiled in the dark realizing that they had reached the date when such lovemaking would usually have been impossible. He put his arms around her so that he could rest his hand on her belly. She sighed and adjusted herself so that she was nestled in his arms a little closer. Hal wondered if perhaps they were not now sharing their bed with a little interloper. A much desired and much prayed for little interloper, but an interloper nonetheless.

And she was a blessing to make their next Thanksgiving truly thankful.

**The End**

_To be continued . . ._


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